Unfortunately, my Dad passed away a few weeks ago. I was born in 1969 and he told my stepmother that he wanted me to have his ‘69 XR7 with a 351w before he passed. I was not expecting that at all.
It has just over 62K original miles on it. Because he was not able to get around very well, he hadn’t driven it for quite a few years.
I will be working on getting it running and then get some relatively minor cosmetic work done on it when I get it home. I will definitely be reaching out to you all in the future as I work through this process!
Sorry for your loss. What a great remembrance! You are in the right place for help with your Cougar! Post a pic when you can.
Before you even try to start it up, drain out what used to be gas from the tank and replace with new. I nearly ruined my engine by not doing that. An even better approach is to drain and replace all fluids.
The gas tank appeared to be empty, which is why my Dad likely hadn’t started it in a long time.
I have to get it from Arizona to where I now live in North Texas. I am getting a vehicle transport company to take it for me.
Sadly, a lot of family members greedily bombarded my stepmother with requests for the car, but she has “stuck to her guns” and honored my Dad’s wishes, even though I never once even made the suggestion that I would love to have it. I presumed that my stepmother would keep it and then give it to her heirs,which I was totally OK with since she took care of my Dad for 40 years.
My mother in law died in Dec, and we have also seen people lining up for her possessions. We’ve tried to honor her wishes too. Glad you got the car!
An empty gas tank would be a good thing if he drained it for storage. But you are more likely to find a layer of goo in the bottom of a rusty tank like my car (also with 62k miles).
Sorry for your loss. Do yourself a huge favor. Get the '69 shop manual. Pretty cheap on Rockauto and tons of information in it. The Osborn manauls are good to have also.
From a seemingly empty tank on a 30 year off the road 69 Cougar I returned to the road recently. Tank rotted from the inside out. When was the last time you saw a JCPenney automotive battery?
That one is pretty nasty. Get a can of carb cleaner and a coffee can and see if you can cut some of the goo. If it is not rusty underneath it can be saved.
I didn’t plan on tossing it out as I know cores are tough to find…I don’t need it for this car, I just bought a cheap reproduction and the next guy can deal with the gauge accuracy…
Wow - that’s a sweet 69! Nicely equipped and looks virtually rust-free too! And you can afford to put a few $ into that one without risk of not getting your money back when you sell (unlike the rest of us - lol!)
North Texas has a good number of Cougar owners including myself, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you want some local help to identify problems or just help figure out what needs to be done.
Condolences for your loss. He is happy you have the car and will be riding with you each time you drive it. Make him proud by getting it back on the road and enjoying it.
So sorry for you and your family’s loss, but congrats on getting a piece of your father to keep his memory alive. If those are recent pics, looks like he really took care of it!
So sorry you lost your dad, but at least you have this part of him to cherrish. Goid luck taking care of it and enjoy it. Maybe some day one of your kids or grand kids will carry it on.
